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GERD issues
I am 22 years old. I don't smoke or drink. Growing up I can remember having a slight hoarse voice in the morning if I ate to late at nights. But never anything too miserable. It would go away within a hour after drinking water.
March 2011 on a Wednesday. I woke up with a hoarse voice that never went away. After a few weeks I started to get slightly worried so I went to my family doctor. I went 3 times over a course of 5-6 weeks and they had no idea after giving me multiple steroids and antibiotics that did nothing. I also had no pain in the beginning my throat didn't hurt at all. My only symptom was the voice. So they sent me to a throat specialist. (Audiologist) He did a throat endoscopy and told me I have GERD. He prescribed me omeprazole 20mg once a day. I changed my diet. I stopped eating hours before I went to sleep. I have never been a soda drinker, I am not a fan of fatty foods. The fattiest thing I like to eat sometimes is chocolate.. So I gave that up. I don't eat big meals. I have always been a snacker. But I didn't seem to get that much better so back as planned in 6weeks. He told me to start taking it twice a day. my throat started to hurt and become really sore around this point. I would wake up in severe pain, and it would hurt through out the day. I would take 2- 20mg omeprazole and I would also drink baking soda mixed with water whenever I couldn't handle the constant burn anymore.. I wouldn't drink the baking soda/water at the same time as taking the omeprazole. I made sure I did that hours apart from one another.
So about 10-12 weeks later my symptoms got much worse. It wasn't working. Nothing seemed to work.
So I went back to the doctor. They did another endoscopy and my throat is more swollen than the first. It's starting to swell up even higher around where my thyroid is.
I started having chest pains and it has become hard to swallow anything.
My heart rate gets insanely high in random occasions.
I feel a knock/thump whenever I swallow.
My throat is always hurting.
I am nauseous when I eat.
It's painful to eat or drink anything; I have lost almost 30lbs because of it.
So I have had a endoscopy twice now,
I got a barium swallow done and he told me I have acid reflux. probe test done,.,Blood work....How many more test need to be done?
I haven’t heard my voice in a year now. It's to the point where I am becoming depressed and I ignore talking to people. I ignore hanging out with friends, because if I talk to much my throat becomes incredibly sore to the point where I won't be able to sleep. I can't yell or whisper. I have one tone. If I yell then I’m pretty much out for the rest of the day because my throat hurts so badly.
I am thinking about going to the Mayo Clinic. Has anyone else been through this? Do you think they will be able to help? Could it be something else?
Im desperate.
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I have the same problem. I have sore lips, throat and bloating all the time after eating fatty fried food. I am in nexium 40mg twice a day, which is helping me to fight with this reflux. I only left little choice of food. Hope we all get heal soon..
What did you find out Janarose and are you better now? I'm going thru a lot of the same symptoms and have requested an appointment at Mayo. I've had severe throat pain/lump sensation every day for the last 6 months as well as hoarseness, nausea, insomnia from the pain and feel desperate as well. My quality of life has just plummeted and I feel like I can't enjoy anything anymore. were you able to get help? I certainly hope you're feeling better.
Severe GERD has been my enemy for 15 years.Doctors prescribed and I've taken the usual, and well known meds for GERDS, but none have given me any long term relief. The gas, nausea, stomach gurgling, stomach pain, bloating, indigestion, and gastritis had become my new normal. I've had all the usual tests for stomach, colon, and whatever else.....Results Always GERD! I think I've taken every med for GERD.I stopped taking Prilosec six weeks ago after hearing, and reading negative reports on the long term use of these medicines.Was seeing my Primary Physician for my yearly physical, and he questioned me about the Toprol 50mg XL. He asked me if the meds made me feel lethargic, depressed, any indigestion, any gas. My answer was YES, YES, AND YES to all the above. He gave no comments, but his questions caused some concerns for me and I called my Cardiologist with my concerns....taking Toprol for rapid heartbeat. Shared my concerns with my Cardiologist and he advised me to take half/25mg pill before bedtime.....I was taking pill in the AM after breakfast.....breakfast is a bowl of instant grits. Heartbeat has always been rapid after meals and I'd start to associate eating with heartrate. I had some serious indigestion and heartburn 2 weeks ago and tried the new Duo Fusion Chewables by Zantac. AND WHAT A RELIEF!!!!!! I now chew one Fusion after meals and absolutely NO Gas, No Indigestion, No Heartburn, AND NO RAPID HEARTBEAT.I could get my heart rate down if I could manage to get that long belch out, the one that starts at the bottom of the leftside of my diaphragm and travels up and out....feels so good, but the Fusion prevents the buildup of air/gas for me.The Fusion is the BEST and I feel GREAT. I'm no longer limiting my foods to white rice, green beans, and grilled salmon.....this has been my main meal for about 3 years, at least four times a week. CAN'T EAT ANY FRUITS, DAIRY PRODUCTS(Lactose Intolerant), most vegetables, wheat, nothing Red, and most breads, I'm okay with eating Flat Bread. No juices, nor sodas, but ok with Ginger Ale.Do you think it's okay to chew the Fusion daily which gives me so much RELIEF? I don't believe they would be as harmful as taking the prescribed meds for so many years and had no healing nor relief.
Hi @megagrif,
Welcome to Connect. Here's some information from Mayo Clinic, about Zantac: http://mayocl.in/2n2GDWE
I'd also like to introduce you to a few members who might be able to give you some more insight; please meet @danybegood1, @doron, @betterb4, @saucy, @mcpucho, @dash99999, @cowboy1997, @lacey, @Pookith85, @probsolved.
@kdubois, you have written at length about drug metabolization polymorphisms, in another conversation; do you have any suggestions or advice?
@megagrif, what does your physician recommend?
Hi @megagrif, are you taking any other medications right now in addition to the Toprol and Zantac Duo Fusion Chewables?
Regarding your GI issues, in addition to the GERD, do you also have a hiatal hernia?
Cut out the rice!! Go to proteins and vegetables and Watch those,some can be very fast. No carbs or fructose including fruit. I've finally gotten off all meds.
Update: I am now off all medications after surviving the unnecessary prescription for Omeprazole! It took trying MANY new things. I found that Zantac, Tums and other antacids only helped for a couple hours or so, and then the heat came back worse! My theory is that I actually have low acid and also that my GI tract was devoid of healthy bacteria, depleted from the Omeprazole and other drugs. I suffered with heat from my stomach to my voice box CONSTANTLY, only varying in heat level from 2 - 9 on a scale of 1-10. As of today, the heat in my esophagus has been gone for 6 days since I added Probiotics. I say that cautiously as I have a true fear of it returning. I still have a bit of a sore throat.
Here is my routine: Oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar and Maluka honey, just recently added 1/2 Cup Simply Smooth Folgers coffee (what a treat!) with lots of lactose free milk (and I take supplements, calcium citrate to help strengthen my LES, and Magnesium), Lunch is a smoothie made with Spinach, Kale, apple, grapes, Maluka honey, water & ice, to which I add the GNC Utra 100 Probiotic Complex (this is what finally dissipated the heat!) (and I take L-Glutamine as it helps heal your gut and strengthens the immune system.) Before dinner I drink a couple TBSPS of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and Maluka Honey and then have a normal low-acid dinner. (Meat, and 2 vegatables) and I take a Betaine with Pepsin capsule with the meal (also to strengthen my LES) At bedtime I take 3 mg of Melatonin (also to strengthen my LES). I will keep you posted if the heat stays away and if my sore throat goes away. This has been hell, it is nice to start to feel better again. The problem is, I no longer trust doctors because of their rush to write a prescription. I will, however, keep an eye on the new surgeries to help hiatal hernia and GERD, especially the LINX procedure.
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1 ReactionHi @megagrif @betterb4,
I too suffered from severe Gerd for 11 years, and I am now drug free. I was taking Prilosec for many years, but it caused other issues, and then I went on 300 mg of Zantac daily. I couldn't miss a dose without feeling the burn. Not too long ago, I did research on conventional medicine and have completely rid myself of Gerd by doing the following:
1. I am on the Paleo autoimmune protocol (mild version of it since after the first 3 weeks I was able to add a lot of food back into my diet.
2. I take the following gut supplements as recommended by Kris Kresser (here is the link: http://my.chriskresser.com/the-supplement-guide/). I take the list for digestive disorders and the list for autoimmune.
If you have told me that I could get rid of gerd with no more medicine I wouldn't have believed it. By the way, the following also helped my bloating and pain due to messenteric panniculitis. I find that the only thing that triggers it is if I cheat a lot, including alcohol and have intense amount of stress. I hope I can learn to meditate but I am a type A person who is quite skeptical.
I wish you health. take care, Doron
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2 Reactions@doron, @magagrif, @betterb4, THANK YOU so much for the information! I will definitely look at this website. Right now i am willing to try anything. I haven't counted my prescription meds but it must 10-12 per day not counting supplements. How did you happen to think to try the paleo diet? Im so glad you found something to work for you. All my best,Judy
@danybegood1 I went on the paleo autoimmune protocol because I had another autoimmune disease and when I got messenteric panniculits, I just didn't want to start using some of these toxic drugs (specifically steroids). My understanding from this site is that not all versions of the disease are autoimmune but I suspect my version to be related. I went on the autoimmune protocol very strictly, and saw results within 6 weeks. I went from not being able to sleep or walk well, to running around with my kids. I did however lose too much weight, but started adding food back in. I cheat often and have relapses when I cheat too much, especially when I am stressed. During one of these stressful times, when my doctor was not around I did research and found out about functional medicine. I added all the supplements and probioitics, and then after 11 years of suffering my gerd disappeared. I still have too much stress since I am a technology entrepreneur, but the one thing that doesn't come back as long as I take the supplements is the gerd. I wish you the best.